Salon! Au
by Jarlos-Queen
Summary: When Tony is unable to get an appointment as his usual salon, Pepper suggests the one she goes to, which is owned and run by Steve. This was requested by rosesareredandangelsarewhite on tumblr a while ago. I posted it there first on my blog (masloki), and then decided to post it here, too, and see what you guys think! (I wasn't sure how to divide it into its chapters, bleh)
1. Chapter 1

Tony was lounging in his office chair, his feet kicked up on his desk. One hand held documents Pepper needed him to sign, and the other held his fifth mug of coffee that day. He sniffed, wrinkling his nose and putting the cup down. He smacked his lips, but something didn't feel right. "Pepper?" he called to his assistant. The fiery haired woman's heels clacked as she walked over and stood obediently in front of his desk. "Yes, Mr. Stark?"

"Is there something on my face?"

"Would you like a mirror, sir?" She didn't bother to let Tony answer, and was already digging through her purse. She pulled out a compact mirror and set it on the desk. Warily, the man put down his papers and grabbed the compact. "What the hell is this?"

Pepper raised an eyebrow. "It's a compact." Her boss was still confused, so she took it back and opened it for him. "Haven't you seen one of these before?"

Tony shook his head. "These must be ancient. Pep, I'm not sure I should allow you to carry such dinosaur-esque..." He waved his hand around trying to think of a word. In the end, he couldn't. "…_things _around." He took the open compact back and looked into it. "This is so tiny. How is this useful at all? This is why we have bigger and better things."

"It's not for big headed men," she joked, smiling. "It's more commonly used by women who are on the go and need to fix their makeup."

"Oh, ha, ha," Tony laughed sarcastically. He raised his chin and studied himself in the small mirror. He frowned and reached his tongue up into his mustache, grabbing the remainder of the coffee that was hiding in his facial hair. "I need to shave," he muttered, grimacing into the mirror. He lowered his chin and turned his head. "I need a haircut," he added, running his free hand through his thick, combed back hair.

"Would you like me to call Thor and Loki for you?" Pepper tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear. Tony nodded, rubbing his palm over his jaw as he tilted his head to get a better look at himself. She walked back to her smaller desk, off in a corner of the room, and picked up her landline. She picked up the phone and punched the number into the pad on the holder. Bringing it up to her ear and twirling the cord, she smiled politely to no one. "Good morning, this is Pepper Potts."

"We're getting rid of that old thing!" Tony swiveled in his chair and faced Pepper at her desk. "I'll give you a Stark Phone for work related purposes."

She put her hand over the receiver and shushed Tony.

"Good morrow, Miss Potts," the deep, slightly gruff voice of Thor, one of the two owners of "Valhalla's Hår" greeted. "This is Thor Odinson of "Valhalla's Hår" speaking. Are you calling to make an appointment?" A smoother voice was heard in the background, causing Thor to chuckle.

"I'm calling to make an appointment for my boss, Tony Stark." She looked over at the man, who was still frowning into the compact.

Thor's laughter boomed, and he held the phone away from him as he dealt with what—or who—was making him laugh. "My dearest apologies, Miss. My husband—" There was playful snickering in the background. "Did you say Stark? Stark is our finest customer! Yes, I'll check if we can squeeze an appointment in for him." He put the phone on hold, and Pepper hummed as she listened to the music. Tony clapped the compact shut and put it on the desk, staring at it as if it were a dead animal.

"I apologize. We do not have any free times today, or in the next week. We're going to be incredibly busy. I hear a formal is coming up at a local high school."

"And they're all coming to you?"

"It seems apparent. Tell Mr. Stark we can book him in on Wednesday, two weeks from now."

Pepper nodded. "I'll tell him, and I'll tell you what he says. Tony—" She pressed the phone to her shoulder. "They're busy until Wednesday a couple weeks from now. Does that work?"

Tony took his feet off his desk and shook his head. "No, it doesn't." He sat up in his chair and rolled closer to his desk. He grabbed his phone and checked his calendar. "I have that meeting with Hammer, and even though I'd love to blow it off, you're going to make me go." Pepper nodded. "Also, I'd kind of like to take care of this _now_." He poked the table with his forefinger.

She brought the phone back up to her head. "I'm sorry, that doesn't work for Tony. Thank you, though."

"Ah, I see. I'm sorry for the inconvenience."

"No, it's fine. We'll take care of it."

"Farewell, Miss Potts."

"Thank you, goodbye." She hung up the phone and turned to Tony. She sighed as she watched the man frown as he grabbed the compact again and stared at himself. "Do you want me to call the man who does my hair? He's not as glamorous as Thor and Loki, but he's still good." She picked up her phone, ready to dial. "You'll be able to get an appointment in soon, as well."

"Could he trim my goatee?" Tony asked as he rubbed his fingers over it.

"Well, I guess Steve could, yes." She dialed the salon's number and tapped her toes against a leg of her desk. "I don't see why he wouldn't be able to."

"Is that his name?" Tony asked, cupping his cheek in his hand.

"Hello, thank you for calling Steve's Styles, this is Steve speaking." The voice on the other end said, sounding slightly bored.

"Hi Steve, it's Virginia." Pepper smiled.

"Oh, hello!" He sounded more interested in the conversation. "Hi, are you looking to arrange an appointment?" The shuffling of papers was loud as Steve pulled out his calendar.

"Yes, but it's not for me. It's for Tony."

"He's your boss, right?" Steve asked and held the phone between his ear and his shoulder as he grabbed his pen.

Pepper nodded and looked at Tony. "Yes. When is the earliest time we can arrange an appointment for him to come in?"

Steve flipped through his calendar. He bit his lip as he flipped back to today's date. "Well, I have a couple of appointments later today…Does 12:45 sound good?"

"Yes, that sounds great. He'll see you then. Thank you." She glanced back over at her boss.

"Alright, I'll see him then." Steve scrawled Tony's name into his calendar, scribbling the time next to it. He took his phone out of the crook he was holding it in and hung up.

Pepper hung up the phone and walked over to Tony, snatching the compact from him. "You're going to get your haircut at 12:45, so you will have just started your lunch break fifteen minutes earlier." She put it in her purse and looked back at him. "The salon is called "Steve's Styles"."

"Did you say that's where you get your hair done?" Tony's eyes narrowed slightly as the red head nodded. "Doesn't it piss him off you always wear your hair up, after all he did for you?"

"Is that an insult?"

"It's a question. You're allowed to wear your hair down, _Virginia_," he chuckled dryly. "Wait, you told him my name." Pepper nodded. "So you've told him about me?"

"Well of course."

He sucked on his cheek. "What did you say?"

"I told him you're my boss." She told him simply.

Tony nodded. "Is he-?"

"I don't know, and don't stereotype him." She answered, already knowing his question. She brought a hand up to her hair. "You can ask him at 12:45, but don't make him feel uncomfortable." Tony nodded, frowning slightly. He grabbed his phone and looked up "Steve's Styles". "Finish up whatever you're doing. You still have that paperwork to look over," Pepper told him as she walked back over to her desk.

Tony groaned and set down his phone. He picked up the papers and skimmed through them. "This is bullshit," he muttered, tossing them onto the desk. He grabbed his pen and clicked it rapidly.

"Tony," Pepper said sternly.

"I'm not agreeing to any of this."

She sighed. "I saw you, you didn't even read it! Read the papers, Tony, and sign where it needs you to." Her boss groaned and started to actually read the papers. Meanwhile, she took out her compact and pulled her hair out of its bun. She shook her head, letting her hair loose. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Tony look over and smile.


	2. Chapter 2

"Stark, here's your lunch." Pepper walked over and placed a burger on his desk. "You have your appointment in fifteen minutes, I'd suggest you leave now and eat on the way. I'll call Happy." She took her cellphone out and called the man.

Tony grabbed the burger and unwrapped its paper package. He took his first bite and nodded. "Does he know the place?"

"Yes. He's driven me there times before."

"Are you two a thing?"

"I don't ask you about your love life anymore, Tony." She seemed slightly annoyed as she yanked her fingers through her hair.

He raised his free hand up to his chest. "Okay, sorry." He stood up, eating more of his burger. He licked his lips.

"Happy's downstairs waiting for you. Don't scare my barber, okay?" She smiled, but her tone was serious.

Tony waved his hand around. "I won't, don't worry." He walked into the elevator and pressed the button to go to the main floor."

"Don't seduce him, either," she teased.

"No promises!" he called as the elevator doors closed and he was taken downstairs.

His burger was gone by the time he was downstairs. He burped, bringing a fist up to his mouth. He walked out of the elevator and over to Happy. "So you've taken Pep to Steve's before?"

Happy nodded as they walked out to the car. He opened the backseat door for Tony before circling around to the driver's seat. He pulled out his keys and started the car. The other man rested back against the leather seat, arms folded over his chest.

"Have you seen the guy? …Who does her hair?" He asked the driver.

"Nope."

Tony frowned and stared out the window until they arrived at the salon. "That'll be seven dollars and fifty cents," Happy said, smiling, as he turned around and looked at the other brunette, who rolled his eyes. "Do you want me to pick you up when you're done?"

"Might as well," Tony shrugged, getting out of the car. "I'll call." He shut the door and looked up at the salon. It wasn't very glamorous, like Pepper had said, on the outside. The neatly hand painted sign hanging on a post and the loops of the name on the window made him wonder how long this salon had been around. He opened the wooden framed door, a bell chiming. The blonde man at the front desk looked up from organizing the products that stood on the edge of the desk. He smiled politely and then looked at the clock. "You must be Tony."

"Indeed I am. Are you…?"

"Steve." Steve stood up and walked over to Tony. He held out his hand and smiled. Tony took the hand, shaking it and smiling back at him. The blonde's other hand rested on his other elbow as they shook hands.

"So you do Pepper's hair?" Tony pulled his hand back. "No, Virginia?"

Steve nodded. "I know about the nickname. I just figured I wouldn't intrude on the nickname-calling." He directed him over to a chair and had him sit while he made sure he had his supplies where he needed them.

"You're her barber, I'm sure she wouldn't mind if you called her Pepper. Most people she knows call her Pepper."

Steve shrugged and dropped the subject. He put his hands on Tony's shoulders. "Alright, what would you like me to do today?"

"Pepper and I aren't dating," he told him.

"I know. Now sir, what would you like?"

He shook his head. "Don't call me sir." He looked into the mirror ahead of him. He chuckled and shook his head again. "I was about to say the usual, but then I remembered I've never been here."

Steve raised his fingers to Tony's hair. "May I?" The man nodded, and Steve put his fingers in his hair. He combed through it and grimaced. "Before I start doing anything, let's wash this gunk out of your hair."

"It's not gunk, it's _product_," Tony protested.

"Here, stand up, and come this way." Steve walked over to the shampooing station, and his customer followed. "Just sit here." He patted the chair and Tony sat down. He grabbed a small towel and wrapped it around the brunette's neck. "We don't want to get your suit wet." Tony nodded as Steve took out the shower head and turned the water on. "Tell me if it gets too hot."

"Don't worry, kid, I like it hot," he purred, waggling his eyebrows.

"I won't call you sir if you don't call me kid." Steve ran his fingers through Tony's hair to help rinse some of the product out.

"Fair enough." He stared up at the ceiling as he felt shampoo being poured and scrubbed into his hair. "How long have you been in business?"

"Almost two years," Steve replied as he massaged his scalp. "Your friend, Virginia, has been coming here since I opened up."

"Do you run this by yourself? I didn't see any other employees."

"Yes, it's just me. As you can probably tell or guess, I'm not a very big business, but I love doing this. " He rinsed the shampoo and leftover product out of Tony's hair. "Okay, you can sit up." He sat up, and Steve grabbed the towel and brought it up to his hair, patting it and rubbing it until it wasn't dripping wet. He smiled at him. "You can head back to the chair you were in earlier." Tony walked back to the chair and sat down, while Steve followed, shoving the towel to hang out of his back pocket. With his fingers, Steve combed Tony's hair back and smiled at his face in the mirror.

"Do you run your fingers like this through all of your clients' hair?" Tony asked. He closed his eyes and sighed as he enjoyed the feeling of Steve's fingers.

The blonde shrugged. "I probably do. I really don't pay much attention; I don't realize I'm doing it."

"Maybe that's why Pep comes here," he chuckled.

"Maybe." Steve brought his face closer to Tony's cheek and looked at his reflection. "Okay, how are you feeling about your hair?"

"It's too long." Tony reached back and rubbed his shoulder, feeling his hair and Steve's hand brush up against it. Steve curled his fingers to try and grab the man's hand. Tony noticed, and was about to tease him for it, but decided he shouldn't. "How long would you prefer it?"

"Not down to my damn shoulders," he chuckled. He moved his fingers up towards the nape of his neck, resting his fingers around the area. Steve moved Tony's fingers away and replaced them with his thumbs, rubbing gentle circles into his skin. The brunette almost moaned, but he caught himself and prevented the noise.

"So, right here?"

Tony nodded. "But I still want the hair above it-" Steve moved his hands up the back of his head and combed his fingers through his hair, "-long enough to brush back like this. I look good with this."

"Yeah, you do," Steve agreed, and bit his lip as he turned around and grabbed the cape. "I'm assuming you'd like it choppy?" He brought his hand back up to Tony's hair, getting an idea of how short he wanted to cut the layers.

"That'd be nice. You can decide whatever length is best," he told Steve, recognizing the way he ran his fingers through his hair, because Thor and Loki had done the same. With Steve, though…it felt like a little more than a haircut. It was the kind of hair stroking that occurred after sex, or while watching a movie on the couch, cuddled under blankets, one person's head in the other's lap. He cleared his throat and Steve looked at him in the mirror, confused. "Sorry." As Steve wrapped the cape around his neck and fastened it in the back, he stared at his reflection. He frowned, tilting his head and looking at where his facial hair grew. He glanced up at Steve's reflection. "Would you be able to give me a shave afterwards? Not like all the way off; I'll show you how I want it."

The blonde nodded and grabbed his scissors. "That shouldn't be a problem." He started cutting Tony's hair, watching as damp, brown clumps stuck to uncut pieces of hair or fell to the floor. He grabbed his comb and combed those clumps away when necessary, and those clumps joined the ones already on the floor. He worked on the hair on the sides, using his comb often. "I was going to ask you earlier," Steve started, "what's big shot Tony Stark doing at a rinky-dink salon?"

"That's _cute_," the man in the chair teased, winking into the mirror. "Pepper recommended you after I couldn't get an appointment at my usual salon."

"Oh, where do you usually go?"

""Valhalla's Hår"."

"I've heard of that place. I actually went there once, just to check it out." He started to laugh. "I look like shit compared to them."

"Whoa, whoa, watch your mouth!" Tony playfully rebuked him. He shook his head. "Yes, they are quite glamorous, but don't let that discourage you. You're damn good at your job."

"I'm not even done with your hair," he pointed out.

"But I'm sure those fingers are magic with scissors, like they are just rubbing through my hair." Steve smiled at that. "You could probably be a masseuse, if you ever got tired of cutting hair."

"You think so?" He finished up cutting the man's hair and was now combing it, snipping ends he needed to fix with the pair of scissors he was still holding.

"Yeah, totally, I mean, I get so stressed sometimes I could use one. If you want, you can come by the Tower sometimes."

"Is this how you flirt, Tony?" Steve shook his head when he got a slightly surprised look from the man. "Pepper's told me a lot about you. It's kind of nice that now I can put a face to the name."

"Damn, does she even get her hair cut when she comes here?" Tony took the chance to spin the chair around once the man had put the scissors down. "She just gossips with you about me, doesn't she?"

Steve crossed his arms. "Occasionally, she brings up people and celebrities I've never heard of." He smirked slightly. "But yes, she mostly talks about you. Oh, and this other guy…Happy?"

It was Tony's turn to smirk. He watched as Steve plugged in a blow dryer. "Since you seem to know so much about me, tell me something."

"You've been a playboy for as long as she's known you, probably longer, you're pansexual, you—"

"She told you that?" He clucked his tongue. "That's probably why you called me out for flirting with you."

"Your sexuality doesn't bother me or anything, don't worry. I'm bisexual." Steve turned on the blow dryer. "Close your eyes, I guess, if you want." He shrugged and blew the dryer in his face, the hair flowing backwards. "If you dry your hair like this," he said loudly over the sound of the blow dryer, "then your hair will settle pushed back, almost exactly the way you like it. A little bit—and I mean a _little bit_—of product will still be necessary, if you want it to hold." He tousled his fingers through the hair on the back of Tony's neck as he dried it. He turned off the blow dryer and unplugged it. He spun the chair back around so he was facing the mirror. He grabbed a hand mirror and held it behind Tony's head. "How does it look?"

Tony sucked on his cheek and nodded. "It looks good. Great, even." He smiled.

Steve bit his lip as he grabbed his electric razor. "Thanks. Let me just trim your neck…" He flicked the razor up carefully, shaving the extra hair off and letting it fall to the floor. He turned it off. "Okay, _now_ you're hair's all done." Tony ran his hands through his hair to feel how his hair felt around his fingers. "It's very soft…And it's nice and choppy." He brought both of his hands through it. "And I can still comb it back."

"You sound very satisfied." Steve smiled and grabbed a broom and dustpan, cleaning up Tony's hair from the floor.

"I am." He looked down at the blonde as he swept around the chair.


	3. Chapter 3

Steve stood up and emptied the dustpan. He looked at the back of Tony's head. "Now, how would you like your facial hair styled?" He walked back over and turned the chair to face him.

"I might as well show you an old picture of me." He pulled out his phone and scrolled to a picture taken at least a week earlier, showing his facial hair well. "I want it to look just like this."

"It's your trademark, isn't it?" He studied the photo. "It suits you."

"Thanks." Tony offered a smile. Steve took the towel out of his back pocket and walked over to the closest sink, running it under hot water. "You said you like it hot, right?" He chuckled. He drenched the towel and then wrung it out. He carried it back over to Tony and laid it over the lower half of his face. He turned his back to the man and grabbed his razor, shaving brush, shaving cream, small pair of scissors, and a small comb. After a few minutes, he took the towel off and worked with his comb and scissors to start trimming Tony's mustache.

Tony spoke up when Steve pulled the scissors away. "Why were you so open with me?"

He looked at the picture of Tony again before he started trimming his beard. He shrugged. "I don't have secrets." The brunette was silent as he let Steve trim his beard. He listened to the hum of the air conditioner, and the sound of the barber's soft breathing. Steve turned and grabbed his razor, shaving brush and cream; and razor. He squirted a bit of the shaving cream onto Tony's face where there were stray facial hairs. He spread it with the brush and rinsed it out. "I just have to shape this." Tony knew exactly what he was talking about, and he smiled slightly. He scraped the razor gently over the area, shaving the hairs away. When he was done, he grabbed the towel and rubbed it back over his face. "And you're done."

Tony smiled and grabbed the mirror, looking at himself. He turned his head and studied his reflection. "You did well."

Steve looked into the large mirror behind him quickly, and then took the hand held mirror from Tony. "Oh, wait." He stopped the man as he reached his hands up from under his cape. "I forgot something." He leaned down and tilted his head slightly, pressing his lips to Tony's.

Tony was pleasantly surprised, but he kissed him back with the same, light force. He sighed softly as he felt a hand on his cheek. He pulled away first, but kept his nose touching Steve's. He smiled, but then frowned as his phone beeped with a text from Happy. "I have to get back to work."

Steve returned the smile, and the frown. "I understand." He took the cape off and let Tony stand up. He walked back to the front desk, sitting behind his register. He punched in a few number, then smiled. "That'll be forty three dollars."

Tony shrugged and took out his wallet. "Do you take credit cards?" Steve nodded. "Wait, never mind, I have cash." He pulled out a few bills and handed them to the blonde.

Steve opened the register and put the money in. "Exact change, how nice," he said, smiling. Tony chuckled. He leaned forward and rested his elbows on the blonde's desk. "Will I get to see you again?"

"The next time you have an appointment." He gave Tony a half smile, then opened a drawer and pulled out a business card. "Here's my card." He grabbed a pen and wrote his cell phone number down. "And my hours are on here, so you can get an idea of when to schedule dates, or whatever you want to do." Steve gave a full smile.

Tony nodded and took the card. "Thanks." He leaned even closer, and Steve did the same. "Can we kiss again?"

Steve leaned in the rest of the way and kissed him softly. Tony kissed him back. He heard a car honk outside and he pulled away. He recognized the black car. "Oh, that's Happy."

"The guy Pepper's going with?"

Tony nodded. "He's my driver." He walked backwards towards the door, smiling at Steve. "I'll call you sometime."

"I'll answer." He winked and sighed a bit as the bell chimed and Tony was out the door. He closed the register and started organizing his desk.


	4. Back at Stark Tower

"Welcome back, Stark," Pepper greeted from her desk. She looked up at him and smiled. "Steve did a very nice job. Your hair looks great!"

"Thank you, Pep!" Tony ran a hand through his hair. "He really is great."

She furrowed her eyebrows slightly at his wording. "You didn't seduce him, did you?" Tony held his hands in front of his chest. "Hey, he kissed me first!" He went back to his desk and took out his phone and put Steve's number into his contacts. Pepper chuckled and smiled slightly. "You have more paperwork to do. It should already be on your desk."

He whined and took out a pen. He looked at his phone and thought of Steve. "Hey, Steve told me you _are_ "going with" Happy?"

Pepper rolled her eyes, smiling. "Get back to work, Tony."


End file.
